


Man's Best Friend

by LittlebutFiery



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Riza is a prosecutor and Roy is a dogwalker, Royai Week, Royai Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 15:23:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14957160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlebutFiery/pseuds/LittlebutFiery
Summary: When young prosecutor Riza Hawkeye's long hours require her to find someone to help her take care of Black Hayate, Roy Mustang fits the bill.





	Man's Best Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I have NEVER written an AU like this for any fandom (I usually do pre/post canon or alternate timeline stuff) so I hope you enjoy!

Riza sighed heavily as she opened the door to her townhouse. She’d almost decided to sleep at her office, but Hayate needed a walk, so home she came. It didn’t feel like home yet, her things still in moving boxes, her only furniture the air mattress on the floor.

Hayate barked happily as he came running to meet her, all but jumping on her the second she was inside. Riza laughed, setting down her briefcase and bending down to pet Hayate, cooing, “Who’s a good boy? Did you miss me today?”

The dog yipped, wagging his tail as he licked Riza’s face. She laughed again. “I’m sorry it’s so late, boy. Let’s get you some dinner.”

She flicked on the lights in the kitchen, glancing down and immediately stopping. She demanded, “Hayate, what is this?”

Hayate whined, his ears back in what Riza took as dog-speak for “guilt.”

There was a large yellow puddle on the floor, a sight that was uncomfortably familiar to Riza. She rubbed her temples, scowling, “This is the fourth time you’ve had an accident this week! You know better than this!”

Hayate whined again. Riza shot her dog a glare before getting the necessary supplies to clean up the mess. Once the linoleum was clean, she fed Hayate and made her own dinner, sitting down heavily on the box of books she used as a chair.

Prior to her move to the city, Hayate had never had an accident, but now, they were practically an everyday occurrence. She was getting worried. Was he sick? Was there something he was allergic to in the apartment? She needed to get him to a vet as soon as possible.

Riza pulled out her cell phone, scrolling through her contacts until she found her secretary’s number. Riza felt bad for bothering her after hours, but Rebecca had insisted that she call if she needed _anything_.

The phone only rang once before Rebecca answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, Rebecca. It’s Riza,” Riza said.

“Hey, boss! What’s up?” Rebecca replied cheerfully.

“Do you know any good vets in the area? I’m worried about my dog,” Riza said.

“Poor puppy,” Rebecca cooed. “Yeah, I know a couple. What’s wrong with him?”

“He keeps peeing in the house,” Riza grumbled. “Even though he’s housebroken and knows better than this.”

Rebecca laughed. “I can save you a vet trip, Riza. He can’t hold it that long! You work 12-hour days. Can _you_ imagine not being able to go to the bathroom for that long?”

Riza blinked, surprised. Rebecca had a very good point. “Well, I don’t know what to do, then. I’m still learning the ropes; it’ll be at least a few months before my days get shorter. I can’t leave in the middle of the day to go walk him.”

“Ever heard of Rover?” Rebecca asked. “It’s like a dating site, but for finding dogsitters and dog walkers. Bet you could find somebody there.”

“I’ll have to stop by the library on my way home from work tomorrow, then,” Riza said. “I haven’t had the time to contact the cable company and get my WiFi router, and I’m out of data for the month.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get you all set up!” Rebecca said. “When do you need him walked?”

“Becca, you really don’t have to,” Riza protested.

“I know. That’s what makes me so nice,” Rebecca laughed. “C’mon, it’ll take me five minutes.”

Riza conceded. “I walk him at 6, before I leave for work. I’d like to have him walked at noon and at 7 at night, too. I’m home by 8, most nights. I already have a spare key.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get that all set up for you! I’ll try to pick a cute guy, too,” Rebecca replied.

“Becca…” Riza sighed.

Rebecca laughed again. “You can thank me later, chief. Have a good night!”

Riza set her phone down and dug into her microwave dinner – not her particular favorite, but her pots and pans were in a box and she did _not_ feel like digging them out.

She’d only just tossed the packaging in the trash and pulled her casefile from her briefcase to review when her phone buzzed. Riza glanced down at it.

_1 NEW MESSAGE NOTIFICATION_

She picked up her phone, opening it and pulling up the text. It was from Rebecca, reading, “ _Already found someone! He’s been background checked and everything. He’ll be by tomorrow morning at 6 sharp. He’s cute, too – you can thank me later. :P”_

Riza rolled her eyes at Rebecca’s last sentence, but she was relieved and more than a little thankful for her friend’s help. She’d have to take her to dinner sometime.

 

Riza was almost ready to head out the door the following morning, putting the finishing touches on her lunch for the day, when there was a soft knock at the door.

She froze. Who the hell was knocking at 6 am?

Picking up the baseball bat she kept by the front door for defense, she opened the door a crack. There was a young man standing on her stoop, awkwardly looking around as he tried not to stare at the door.

“Yes?” Riza demanded, startling the man back to reality.

“Oh, uh, good morning!” he replied. “Um…are you Miss Hawkeye?”

“Yes,” Riza nodded. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Roy,” he said. “Um…your friend Rebecca said you needed a dog walker?”

Riza closed her eyes and sighed. She’d completely forgotten that Rebecca had set this up for her, and from the looks of it, scared the crap out of this poor guy. She set the baseball bat down and opened the door wider, replying, “I’m sorry. I forgot she arranged this for me.”

He smiled, visibly relieved by her relaxing her demeanor. “I’m not really a morning person either. It’s okay.”

“Well, I need to get going to work. Let me get you what you need, and you and Black Hayate can be on your way,” Riza said. “You can come in.”

Roy followed her inside, eyeing the baseball bat warily. Riza called, “Hayate!”

The dog barked and scampered towards them, wagging his tail excitedly as he sniffed Roy. Riza watched as the man knelt down so Hayate could smell him, before giving Hayate some chin scratches. Roy was all smiles as he pet the dog, laughing, “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”

Riza was impressed. She didn’t really trust him yet, as she’d only just met him, but she did feel somewhat more comfortable leaving Hayate in his care. As for the dog himself, he was positively in heaven, rolling over so Roy could rub his stomach.

“Here’s my spare key,” Riza said, pulling out the spare she’d had made, whimsically covered in little paw prints. She grew serious, warning, “I don’t mind if you have a drink from the fridge or a snack now and then, but don’t go overboard. And don’t even _think_ about stealing anything. I’m a prosecutor. You will be punished with the full extent of the law.”

To her surprise, Roy laughed. “I’m saving up money so I can go to the police academy. I don’t plan on stealing anything. Don’t think that would help me get in.”

Riza smiled despite herself. “Fair enough.”

“Your friend said you get home pretty late. Do you want me to feed Hayate for you too?” Roy asked. When Riza raised an eyebrow, he went on, “I’m not looking for extra money. I figure, if I’m already here, I could help out a little.”

“Yes, I’d appreciate that,” Riza nodded. “His food is in the pantry, and his leash is on the hook by the door.”

She pulled a sticky note from the pad she kept on her entryway table, scribbling her phone number on it. “This is my cell number. Call if there’s any emergencies.”

Roy nodded. “I’ll take good care of him, Miss Hawkeye.”

“It’s Riza,” she said. “Now, you two have a nice walk. I’m off to work.”

The three of them departed at the same time, Riza heading one way and Roy and Hayate heading in the other.

 

Riza had to dodge an infinite number of questions from Rebecca when she arrived at the office that morning – primarily, Rebecca demanding, “Is he _cuuuuuuteeeee?_ ” over and over – but her mind was much more at ease knowing Hayate was in good hands.

She only ever saw Roy in the mornings, but she was glad to have him as part of her daily routine. Despite his claims to not be a morning person, he always greeted her brightly and cheerfully, and brought her a good-luck bagel the morning of her first trial. He’d been embarrassed that a bagel was all he could afford, but she appreciated the (delicious) gesture.

In return, she’d started brewing two cups of coffee in the morning, leaving one on the counter for Roy on the rare occasions she left before he arrived. More often than not, he arrived early and they chatted over coffee, making Riza late on more than one occasion.

Rebecca teased her relentlessly for that.

Riza didn’t exactly see the relationship the way Rebecca did – she was technically Roy’s boss, after all, and it would be awkward. She did have to admit, though, that he was charming and kind, and he wasn’t bad to look at, either.

And he _loved_ Hayate. That was a plus, too.

 

It was almost three months later when the routine changed somewhat. Riza had left work early that day with a raging headache and all of her work completed far ahead of schedule.

Early enough that she ran into Roy and Hayate as they finished their evening walk. Hayate barked a greeting, straining against his leash to go greet his master, while Roy waved at her.

Almost immediately, something caught her eye.

Roy’s hand was bright red.

“Been painting, Mr. Mustang?” Riza called. She still had to try not to giggle every time she said his last name – Roy Mustang sounded like a goddamn stripper name, not the name of the most mild-mannered dog walker she’d ever met.

“Not exactly,” Roy replied, meeting her at the base of steps up to her townhouse.

At this moment, Riza realized that his normally pristine button-down shirt was all wrong. One sleeve was normal, buttoned at the cuff, but the other was rolled up to his elbow.

No…it was shredded.

His arm was also bright red.

“Holy shit, what happened?” Riza demanded, realizing that Roy’s forearm was bleeding profusely, the reason his hand was stained red.

“This asshole at the dog park likes to take his dog off its leash and let it run around. It’s not a big deal, but it’s mean. It went after Hayate, and I fought it off,” Roy shrugged. “I’ll let you take Hayate in so I don’t get blood all over your nice hardwood.”

“I’m taking Hayate in and I’m taking you to the emergency room,” Riza replied, taking the leash from his hand and running up her steps.

“I’m really okay,” Roy waved her off with his uninjured hand. “It’s worse than it looks.”

“Animal bites can become extremely infected very quickly,” Riza argued, all but shoving Hayate inside the door and locking it. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I don’t have insurance, and I don’t want to bleed all over your car…” Roy protested weakly.

“I’ll pay your medical bills. Wrap your arm in this,” Riza barked, taking off her blazer and handing it to him.

“I…this is Chanel,” Roy said dumbly. “I think your jacket is worth more than my car.”

“Jackets are replaceable. Arms are not. Get in the fucking car, Roy,” Riza ordered, getting in the driver’s seat and turning the car on.

She was not proud of the way she drove to the hospital – had she seen any cops, there would likely have been a slew of tickets – but they soon arrived at Central General.

Though Roy downplayed his pain – “Really, it’s only like a four” – the massive amount of blood and the “I dare you to tell me it’s a thirty-minute wait” look in Riza’s eyes got Roy back to an exam room extremely quickly.

As they waited for the doctor to return with the various tools required to repair the injury and stop the bleeding, Roy turned to Riza and asked, “Why are you doing all this for me? I’m just the dog walker.”

“Hayate is the only thing I have,” Riza replied. “My father was my only living family until he died last year, and Hayate got me through it. You protected him, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“I was just doing my job,” Roy mumbled, the painkillers the nurse had put in his IV beginning to take effect.

“And as your boss, it’s my job to ensure you receive appropriate compensation and medical care. That’s why I’m going to pay all these ER bills,” Riza said.

Roy looked at her, a faint drug-induced haze on his face. “Y’know, the only compensation I’d really like for this is dinner with you.”

Riza blinked. “What?”

“I like our coffee talk in the morning, but I kinda just want to hang out without you having to run out the door,” Roy replied, words slowly slurring together as the drugs fully kicked in. He added intelligently, “You’re pretty and I like you.”

She had to suppress a giggle. “Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Mustang?”

“Damn straight,” Roy agreed, weakly offering a thumbs up with his good hand.

“I think that’s pretty fair compensation,” Riza nodded, smiling. “I am going to pay those ER bills, though.”

“Eh, fuck those,” Roy slurred. “I don’t like bills. I like you.”

Riza couldn’t hold back her laugh this time. “How about you try to get some rest until the doctor comes back? I’ll still be here.”

“Okay,” Roy agreed, almost immediately dozing off, drooling into his pillow.

Riza pulled out her phone, sending Rebecca a text.

“ _You know how you told me to thank you later? I think it’s later now.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Sad that Royai Week is over? You can always send me prompts at my tumblr (same username). I'd be happy to write something for you!


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